10/03/2026
Police Oracle
The community site for the criminal justice interventions and rehabilitation community; Reflective Practice, has launched a new free-to-attend webinar series for its members.
The six-part webinar programme will focus on the realities of frontline work, from burnout and grief to behaviour change and case formulation.
Titled ‘Lessons from the Frontline: Working with Offending Behaviour’, the series has been designed as a practical development offer for professionals working across probation, community justice and offender rehabilitation.
Rather than centring on abstract theory, the programme is intended to draw directly on lived professional experience and the day-to-day challenges faced by practitioners.
The programme will bring together six sessions covering practitioner wellbeing, key lessons from frontline criminal justice practice, psychological theory, career development beyond probation, grief in justice settings, and the use of clinical case formulation in offender work.
The presenters include Jonathan Hussey, an award-winning former probation officer, bestselling criminal justice author and managing director of RSMS, and Dr Comer, a clinical psychologist with extensive experience working with complex and high-risk individuals in justice settings.
The opening webinar, Burnout in Criminal Justice, will examine why professionals in probation, offender management and community justice are especially vulnerable to emotional exhaustion, cynicism and loss of motivation. It would also explore practical approaches to resilience, reflective practice and support-seeking.
A second session, Five Lessons Learnt Working in the Criminal Justice System, is aimed at sharing insights gained through experience rather than formal training. It will focus on professional judgement, systemic pressures and the realities that shape effective practice over time.
The third webinar, Psychological Theory in Practice, will introduce practitioners to Transactional Analysis as a framework for improving communication and behaviour change outcomes. Topics will include ego states, communication patterns, life scripts and the application of psychological concepts to resistant or disengaged clients.
Attention will then turn to career progression in Life After Probation, a session focused on helping criminal justice professionals identify and communicate their transferable skills outside the sector. This webinar will offer practical guidance on consultancy, training and freelance opportunities.
The fifth session, Grief and the CJS — A Hidden Problem, will address one of the most overlooked issues in the justice system. It will examine how unresolved loss can influence offending behaviour, while also acknowledging the cumulative impact of grief on practitioners themselves.
Rounding off the programme is Case Formulation and Its Application to Working in Justice, delivered in conversation with Dr Comer. This session will explore how formulation can help practitioners better understand the causes of behaviour, inform intervention planning and bridge the gap between clinical insight and frontline justice work.
Taken together, the series aims to provide a broad but grounded professional development package for practitioners at different stages of their careers, with an emphasis on practical application, reflective learning and a deeper understanding of offending behaviour.
These sessions are free to attend.
Check out the series in more detail and sign up here.